Cuba’s spiraling energy crisis has abruptly spilled onto the runways, triggering an unprecedented aviation fuel shortfall that is rippling across North America and Europe. As of February 10, 2026, the island’s main gateways, including Havana’s José Martí International Airport, have effectively run out of Jet A-1 fuel for at least a month, forcing major carriers such as Delta Air Lines, Air Canada, and Lufthansa to suspend or radically reconfigure their Cuba operations. For travelers from Canada, the United States, and Europe, the fallout is immediate: mass schedule changes, cancellations, and a sudden cloud of uncertainty over winter holidays in the Caribbean’s most storied destination.
A Sudden Grounding: How Cuba Ran Out of Jet Fuel
The crisis became official in the aviation world when a series of international NOTAMs, or Notices to Air Missions, were filed for Cuba’s airports, including Havana and key resort gateways such as Jardines del Rey Airport in Cayo Coco. These notices state, in stark technical language, that Jet A-1 fuel will not be available from February 10 through at least March 11, 2026. For airlines, this is the equivalent of a “fuel not found” sign at every major Cuban pump, rendering normal operations impossible.
The fuel shortage sits atop a wider energy emergency that has plagued Cuba for months. Power cuts, transport disruptions, and fuel rationing have already become part of daily life across the island. Authorities have rolled out emergency measures, including shortened work weeks in state firms and sharp cuts to interprovincial bus and train services. In recent days, tourism officials have begun consolidating operations further, closing some hotels and relocating guests to reduce overall energy consumption during what should be the peak winter season.
External pressure has intensified the strain. Oil supplies from key partners have been disrupted, and tighter restrictions on energy shipments into Cuba have made it increasingly difficult for the country to source refined products like aviation fuel. What had been a rolling crisis on land has now reached the air, with the jet fuel shortage at the heart of Cuba’s ability to stay connected to its main visitor markets.
For aviation planners and airline operations teams, the timing could scarcely be worse. February and early March are critical weeks for Caribbean tourism, particularly for Canadian and European travelers seeking winter sun. Instead of managing high-season demand, airlines are now focused on salvaging what they can of their Cuba programs while respecting strict safety and fuel requirements.
Major Airlines Hit: Delta, Air Canada, Lufthansa and More
Among the airlines most directly affected are those that form the backbone of Cuba’s long-haul connectivity with North America and Europe. Delta Air Lines, which serves Havana from its U.S. hubs, is preparing a suspension of most, if not all, Cuba flights over the coming weeks as the fuel shortage makes normal turnarounds unsustainable. Without the ability to refuel in Havana, Delta would need to operate complex “tankering” operations or add additional stops, eroding the commercial viability of the route and significantly complicating scheduling.
Air Canada and other Canadian carriers face similar turmoil. Canada is historically Cuba’s single largest source market for tourists, with direct flights from cities such as Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver feeding resorts in Varadero, Cayo Coco, and Holguín. In recent days, Canadian airlines and tour operators have already begun to roll out flexible rebooking policies for Cuba, allowing travelers to change dates or switch destinations without hefty penalties. With a month-long interruption to fuel availability now confirmed, those temporary policies are rapidly evolving into full-scale program reviews and, in many cases, outright flight suspensions.
In Europe, Lufthansa and other legacy carriers that connect Cuban cities to hubs like Frankfurt, Madrid, and Paris are being forced into similar decisions. While some airlines can in theory operate “no uplift” rotations, arriving with enough fuel for the round trip, that approach is limited by aircraft performance, payload restrictions, and the distances involved. For long-haul operations from Europe, the margins are often too thin to make tankering a practical, long-term strategy.
Smaller regional and charter airlines are also caught in the crunch. Operators from Mexico, Panama, and Spain, which have supplied a steady stream of regional traffic into Cuban airports, now have to choose between adding technical stops in third countries to refuel or withdrawing services for the duration of the crisis. For passengers, that frequently means longer travel times, awkward itineraries, or canceled vacations.
What This Means for Travelers From Canada, the U.S. and Europe
For travelers, the most visible effects will be flight suspensions, significant schedule changes, and a rising wave of rebooking notices. Passengers booked to fly to Havana, Varadero, Cayo Coco, Holguín, Santa Clara, and other Cuban gateways from mid-February through mid-March should expect disruption across nearly every major carrier serving the island. Many airlines are prioritizing safety and operational reliability by opting to cancel or drastically reduce services rather than attempt intricate refueling workarounds at short notice.
Canadian travelers, in particular, will feel the impact. Many winter-sun package holidays to popular all-inclusive resorts in Varadero and the northern keys rely on high-frequency charter and scheduled services from Canadian gateways. With Cuban hotels already consolidating guests and some resorts temporarily closing, thousands of customers now find themselves navigating a fast-changing landscape of vouchers, refunds, and destination swaps to other Caribbean islands or Mexico.
For U.S. passengers, where Cuba services are already more limited and tightly regulated, the fuel cutoff compounds existing complexity. Travelers who planned culturally focused trips to Havana or family visits may face fewer available seats, short-notice cancellations, or reroutings via third countries. U.S.-based airlines are expected to maintain some level of service where technically feasible, but the month-long fuel gap is likely to sharply curtail the already modest schedule of direct flights.
European holidaymakers will encounter a mix of outright cancellations and longer, less convenient journeys that may involve refueling stops in nearby Caribbean hubs such as the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, or the Cayman Islands. For some tour operators, the added costs and logistical hurdles may tip the balance toward suspending Cuba programs entirely until the situation stabilizes, encouraging customers to shift their holidays to alternative sun destinations on the continent or around the Mediterranean later in the year.
Inside the Operations: Why Airlines Cannot Simply “Work Around” the Shortage
At first glance, travelers might wonder why airlines cannot simply arrive in Cuba with full tanks, refuel elsewhere, or operate “as normal” with a few tweaks. In reality, the constraints are far more severe. Modern commercial aviation is tightly regulated, with strict safety margins that dictate how much fuel must be carried for the route, reserves for diversions, and contingencies for weather or air traffic control delays. Removing a major refueling option from an airline’s map forces a complete redesign of flight plans, often with heavy trade-offs.
One technical option is fuel tankering, where an aircraft departs from its origin with enough fuel to complete both the outbound and inbound segments without taking on more in Cuba. While feasible on shorter routes, this strategy quickly runs into performance limits on longer hauls. Extra fuel is itself heavy and consumes more fuel to carry, reducing how much payload can be allocated to passengers and cargo. Airlines must then decide whether it is commercially sensible to operate flights with sharply reduced seat capacity or cargo volume for an extended period.
Another workaround is to introduce intermediate fuel stops in neighboring countries. An airline flying from Toronto to Varadero, for example, might add a refueling stop on the return leg in a Caribbean hub. But each additional landing increases operating costs, complicates crew duty-time limits, and introduces further points of potential delay. For network carriers already juggling tight connections at their home hubs, these changes can cascade into schedule disruptions far beyond the Cuba route itself.
Given these complexities, many airlines determine that the safest and most economically rational choice is to suspend services temporarily. This allows them to provide clearer information to customers and travel agents, rather than stringing passengers along with uncertain, constantly changing workarounds. From a reputational standpoint, it is usually better to cancel decisively and offer alternatives than to gamble with intricate operations that could unravel on the day of departure.
A Heavy Blow to Cuba’s Tourism-Dependent Economy
The aviation fuel shortfall is not only an air travel story but a critical blow to a national economy heavily reliant on tourism. In recent years, Cuba has struggled to regain its pre-pandemic visitor numbers, with arrivals falling short of government targets and foreign exchange earnings under pressure. Tourism receipts help fund essential imports, from food and medicine to spare parts for the island’s aging infrastructure.
By knocking out or limiting international air connections during the heart of the winter season, the jet fuel crisis threatens to sharply reduce visitor arrivals just when Cuba can least afford it. Industry insiders warn that even a one-month disruption can have outsized effects, not only because of lost revenue today but also due to the reputational damage that may deter future bookings. Travel planners and tour operators, always sensitive to operational risk, may be cautious about expanding or reinstating programs until they are confident that fuel supplies and power reliability have stabilized.
On the ground, the strain is already visible. Hotels in key resort areas are consolidating operations, closing some properties entirely while shifting guests to others with better access to supplies. Resort staff, local guides, and small businesses that depend on tourist traffic face renewed uncertainty after several challenging years. In the short term, some may see increased business as guests cluster into fewer open facilities, but the longer-term trend is toward fewer visitors overall and more unpredictable demand.
For Cuba’s tourism authorities, the challenge is twofold: managing an immediate crisis while trying to reassure international partners that the country remains a viable destination in the medium term. That balancing act becomes more difficult with every day that aircraft cannot refuel at the island’s main airports and airlines keep their Cuba networks on pause.
Advice for Affected Travelers: What to Do Now
For travelers caught in the middle of this rapidly evolving situation, the most important step is to stay in close contact with their airline or tour operator. Many carriers serving Cuba, including large North American and European airlines, are activating flexible rebooking and refund policies for trips scheduled during the fuel shortage period. These may allow customers to change their travel dates, reroute to alternative destinations, or accept travel credits with reduced or waived fees.
Passengers who are already in Cuba should monitor airline communications frequently and register their contact details through mobile apps or customer portals wherever possible. Some carriers may consolidate flights, moving passengers to different departure days or airports to ensure they can leave the island even as schedules are trimmed. Travelers may also receive notices about being rerouted through another Caribbean hub for refueling on their return journey.
Those who have yet to depart should consider contingency plans. This could involve shifting a Cuba holiday to later in the year, when fuel supplies are expected to normalize, or pivoting to alternate destinations in the region. Package holiday customers, especially from Canada and Europe, may have the most options, as integrated tour operators can rebook both flights and hotels in one transaction. Independent travelers should check accommodation and activity cancellation policies alongside their air tickets to avoid unnecessary costs.
Travel insurance coverage varies, but policies that include trip interruption and travel supplier default protections may offer some recourse, depending on the fine print. Travelers would be wise to document all communications with airlines, tour operators, and hotels, and to keep receipts for any additional expenses incurred while adjusting plans. Above all, flexibility and patience will be essential as airlines and Cuban authorities navigate a crisis that is changing day by day.
What Comes Next for Cuba’s Skies
Looking ahead, the crucial question is how swiftly Cuba can restore reliable access to aviation fuel. Official NOTAMs currently indicate that Jet A-1 will be unavailable at major airports until at least March 11, 2026, but those dates could be extended if the underlying energy supply issues are not resolved. Airlines typically plan their schedules and capacity months in advance, and some may wait for clear evidence of stable supplies before ramping back up to pre-crisis levels.
Diplomatic and commercial negotiations over energy flows into Cuba are likely to intensify in the coming weeks. The island’s leadership has framed the crisis as a consequence of external constraints and sanctions, while international observers point to structural weaknesses in the country’s energy infrastructure and overreliance on a narrow group of suppliers. Whatever the political narrative, the practical outcome will be measured in tankers arriving at Cuban ports and fuel once again flowing to airport depots.
For the global aviation industry, the Cuban fuel shortage is an unwelcome reminder of how exposed international air networks can be to geopolitical and energy shocks. Airlines already dealing with volatile fuel prices, airspace closures in other regions, and shifting demand patterns must now absorb yet another localized crisis with global knock-on effects. Network planners will be revisiting risk assessments for destinations where fuel supply or infrastructure resilience is less certain.
For travelers, the message is more straightforward: while Cuba remains a culturally rich and alluring destination, its skies are entering a turbulent phase. Until aviation fuel returns to Cuban airports in reliable quantities and airlines restore their schedules, those planning trips from Canada, the United States, or Europe should build flexibility into their plans, keep a close eye on airline advisories, and be prepared to adjust course. The island’s beaches, music, and architecture are not going anywhere, but for the next few weeks at least, getting there may prove more complicated than at any time in recent memory.